“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
Jesus is saying that though He was rejected by the people, arrested, tried and found innocent and then crucified anyway, it would not stop him from building His church. The Jews did reject Christ and crucify Christ, but He arose, He did build His church.
The meaning behind this verse is that the strength and plots of the devil and his fallen angels shall not prevail against faithful believers in Christ i.e., the Church. So, declaring that the Church shall prevail, or win is an understatement. The Church by the declaration of Christ Jesus has already won the victory against the devil and his fallen angels. On the other hand, declaring that the Church shall not be defeated is stating nothing but the obvious. It is no prophecy to state the victory of the Church.
In Biblical times, the city gates were the centre of commerce and government. The city council would meet at the city gates, and many commercial transactions would take place. These gates were the entrance point to the fortified cities in ancient times where councils were held. In this regard, a sound interpretation from a Biblical standpoint would be that the “the gates of hell” represents a combination of hell’s policy and power.
However, note what follows directly after “the gates of hell” in Matthew 16:18: It’s “shall not prevail”. The meaning behind this verse is that the strength and plots of the devil and his fallen angels shall not prevail against faithful believers in Christ i.e., the Church. Okay, that’s pretty straightforward – but there’s more to it.
The term gates of hell come from the Jewish expression “pulai hadou” that means “realm of the dead”. We find this expression in Isaiah 38: in the form of “the gates of Sheol”, where Sheol is a synonym of hell, hades or underworld. Thus, it’s safe to say that “the gates of hell” is a euphemism for death. Satan and his minions cannot overcome the saved, those who believe in the redemptive work of God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ. That serpent Satan is delusional in thinking that he can overcome God’s faithful church. But Scripture reassures us that nothing, including the gates of hell will prevail against the church. We are eternally covered by the blood of the Lamb and even if we are persecuted and killed, we know that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Victory belongs to the Church.
Victory belongs to us.
Bro Ritchie
Ritchie's Virtual Church
